F 74 
.D4 
S614 
Copy 1 



®I|0 Utxt. 3l0l|n HtUiama l^nua^ 



The Rev. John Williams House 



BY 



GEORGE SHELDON 



AND 



J# M. ARMS SHELDON 



DEERFIELD 



1918 






A.^-'K^^L 







jj 


o 


Hi 




r-1 


J 


l~ 


^ 


o 


;; 


^ 


ce 




u 


u 


ti, 






■*-> 


I. 


s 


§ 


o 


>-. 




ja 


a; 


-c 


m 


u 


S 


n 


O 


cd 


X 


o 


(fi 




C 


Tl 








aj 


'■^ 


tn 






^ 


Q 










J 


ffl 





j2 


>— 1 


Ui 


> 


<: 


o 




oi 


w 




>, 


J3 


X! 


H 


C 



A VISIT TO THE OLD PARSON WILLIAMS 
HOUSE IN DEERFIELD.* 

By George Sheldon. 

The first thing which claims attention, on approaching this 
venerable mansion, is a magnificent sycamore, the pride of the 
village, grandly towering above the surrounding elms and ma- 
ples. The trunk is hollow, and more than half a century ago 
tliere was a large opening made into the interior, about ten feet 
from the ground, by the loss of a large limb, through which two 
generations of boys were wont to descend into the cavity to get 
punk for Fourth of July fireworks. A vigorous growth in later 
years has nearly closed this opening, and the tree bids fair to 
bve and bless generations of children yet to come with its shadow, 
its ' ' cinnamon, ' ' and its ' ' fur balls. ' ' 

The house stands fronting the east, is two stories high, the 
main part 47x21 feet, a gambrel-roofed ell 40x23 projects from 
the southwest rear, and a "lean-to," 20x10, from the northwest 
rear; the whole covered with rived or cleft clap-boards, nicely 
joined. There are nine windows in front and five at each end, 
and they are rather narrow. The upper tier are set close under 
the cornice, the lower ones are finished with handsome pointed 
pediments. There are three doors — one in front, one in the 
southwest corner of the main building, and one in the ell. The 
front entrance is quite an elaborate affair ; the door is double or 
folding, each divided into three parts, the upper finished with 
oblong, the center with square panels, and the lower with a sort 
■of crusaders' cross. In the top of the door is a window, and a 
fine old brass knocker invites entrance. But we will wait a mo- 
ment to study the complex ornamentation about the door : An 

*This paper and the two following papers were published in the 
Greenfield Gazette and Courier under dates of July 2, July 30, and Aug. 6, 
1877, for the purpose of arousing interest in the old house, and thereby 
saving it from destruction. 



imitation of rustic masonry surrounds the whole, upon which are 
superimposed fluted Tuscan pilasters, resting on a rustic pedestal 
of similar character, with the dies paneled. The architrave of 
the entablature is enriched by a large rose over each pilaster, 
and surmounting the cornice is a pediment of peculiar construc- 
tion. It is formed of two long-armed volutesi, which nearly meet 
at the apex, each bearing a rose. In the niche of the pediment 
stands a paneled pedestal supporting a sort of urn, the top of 
which occupies the space between the volutes. The door at the 
southwest corner has three tiers of plain panels, the ornamen- 
tation similar to the front, but the pediment corresponding with 
those over the windows. 

Now we will seize the quaint knocker and enter the broad 
hall running across the house, lighted by windows in the upper 
sections of the doors at either end. On the right and left are 
doors opening to the front rooms. These are finished with fine 
chimney-pieces, rich panels, and a heavy cornice, while the 
massive summer-tree across the center cuts the ceiling into two 
large, deep panels. The cupboard in the south room is a curi- 
osity in cupboards, from the number of its cubby-holes, hard for 
the uninitiated to find ; while that in the north room is the most 
elaborate piece of architecture about the premises, and at once 
reminds the visitor of a Catholic shrine. Its form is that of 
half of an upright domed cylinder, with a pilaster at each side, 
the arched vault is fluted or scalloped to the likeness of a huge 
shell, and the queer shelves running around the walls are nar- 
row and finished with a rounded projection in front.* Both 
rooms have barred wooden shutters, and cosy window-seats, sug- 
gesting security and comfort. 

The stairs from the hall are a notable afl^air, broad, easy of 
ascent, with a wide square landing, a balustrade, heavy and rich- 
ly ornamented, and remarkable for the time and place of con- 
struction. At the second floor one comes to the ''blue room'' 
with its high windows, sombre walls, cerulean hangings, and a 
Jit place for a fit of the "blues." 

*This corner cupboard is now in Memorial Hall. 



5 

Up another flight of the same generous stairs we come to 
the garret, now desolate enough, but at the death of "Aunt 
Esther" abundantly stored with the treasures of the past. In 
the south end a room is finished off, and here begins the mystery 
which is one of the prime attractions to the curious. From this 
room a flight of stairs winds down under the roof to a room in 
the second story which was entirely isolated from the rest of the 
chambers. Here is a closet and fire-place, back of which is a 
snug cavity built in the chimney, a fit receptacle for papers or 
small valuables, and easily secured from prying eyes. Adjoin- 
ing this room is another, some eight feet square, near the center 
of the house, in the floor of which is a trap-door. This being 
raised discloses a very narrow and crooked staircase landing in 
a small, dark closet on the lower floor, and with a trap-door in 
this, the cellar might be reached, thus affording communication 
between the garret and cellar secluded from observation and en- 
tirely distinct from the hall stairs or the back stairs in the ell. 
No one pretends to explain the object of this passage, but theo- 
ries are plenty and romance has full play. 

The old kitchen fire-place, its crane, pot-hooks, and tram- 
mels, is an attractive feature to the young and the artistic. The 
cellar wall is a fruitful theme for study and speculation, about 
which many questions are asked that at present no one can an- 
swer. Those who love the native wood finish find much to ad- 
nn're in one chamber in the ell : Pine panel-work, dark with 
age and uncontaminated by paint or oil, composes its walls. 

The "lean-to" was occupied as a kitchen and bed-room. It 
keeps up the reputation of the house for queer, out-of-the-way 
works, has odd old paper hangings, and a unique crane in the 
fire-place which is highly suggestive of a steaming candle about 
bedtime. 

If the history of this old homestead and the buildings there- 
on, with the leading events in the lives of their occupants, be 
ever written, we shall see an important chapter in the history 
of old Pocuratuck and of the Connecticut Valley. 



HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL GOSSIP 

ABOUT THE OLD PARSON WILLIAMS 

HOMESTEAD AND ITS OCCUPANTS. 

NO. 1. 

By George Sheldon. 

In the year 1686, "The Inhabitants of Deerfield, to Incour- 
age Mr. John Williams to settle amongst them to dispenc the 
blessed word of Truth unto them, have made propositions unto 
him as followeth: That they will give him 16 cowcommons of 
meadow land, with a homelott that lieth on the Meeting house 
hill. That they will build him a house : 42 foot long, 20 foot 
wide, with a lentoo of the back side of the house, & finish sd 
house; to fence his home lott, and within two yeares after this 
agreement, to build him a barn, and to break up his plowing 
land." A short time after, "The Comitty approves and ratifies 
the above sd propositions on the Condition Mr. Williams settle 
among them. ' ' So stands the record on the original parchment- 
covered folio. These "Inhabitants" were the feeble few who 
had returned to their naked lands, after the desolations of 
Philip's War, with a few more adventurers who had been induced 
to join them. "The Comitty" were acting as agents for the 
Proprietors of the 8000-acre Dedham Grant. 

These propositions having been accepted by Mr. Williams, 
he became the first settled minister of Deerfield. His "home 
lott" lay near the center of the town plat, fronting easterly on 
the training field, bounded south and west on the road to the 
Meadows, afterwards the highway over the Hoosac Mountains 
to Albany. On this piece of land the feeble band set to work 
with energy and pious zeal, and soon a house was ready for their 
minister and his brave, young bride, he having married the same 
\ ear Eunice Mather, a grand-daughter of Richard of Dorchester, 
the first of the name in New England, and also of John War- 
ham, predecessor of Richard Mather at Dorchester, and after- 



8 

wards a pillar of the church in Connecticut. The young min- 
ister and his wife were born the same year, and were twenty- 
three years old. They at once took possession of the new house, 
and he entered upon the arduous and responsible duties of a 
ministerial life in a frontier settlement. 

In this house they passed sixteen eventful years, and here 
eleven children were born unto them. Here they were quietly 
sleeping on that fateful morning of February 29, 1704. Over 
its threshold, reeking with the blood of the two younglings of 
their flock, and Parthena, their faithful negro nurse, the father 
and mother with their living children were dragged to a terrible 
death, or more terrible captivity. The house was plundered, 
and the fire fiend, eager to aid its savage ally, was unchained 
within its walls. Looking back from the highlands on the 
northwest, to which the captives had been taken, the sorrowful 
minister saw this dwelling, reared by the loving hands of his 
j)eople, hallowed by so many tender associations, lying a heap of 
smoking ruins. 

The sad tale of the murder of Mrs. Williams, the next 
morning, near the foot of Leyden Glen, the long captivity of Mr. 
"Williams and children, the marriage of his daughter Eunice to 
Amrusus, the St. Francis Indian, and her lapse into barbarism, 
tlie final recovery of Mr. Williams and many of his charge 
through the agency of Ensign John Sheldon, are all as familiar 
as a thricetold tale. 

When Mr. Williams landed in Boston on his return from 
Canada, it seems to have been a question whether he would come 
again to Deerfield. Nine days after his arrival in Boston, a 
town meeting was held here, and Capt. Jonathan Wells, Ensign 
John Sheldon and Thomas French, were chosen a committee to 
go down to the Bay to treat with Mr. Williams in regard to his 
resettlement. They were authorized to ask in behalf of the 
town for aid from the General Court, and "in all thes partick- 
ulars to act and doe according to best of their discration." 
They were successful in their mission ; Mr. Williams returned, 
and the General Court made a grant of money. We are ig- 
norant of the "partickulars" of the arrangement, but it is safe 



to conclude one item related to rebuilding his house; for at 
another town meeting, January 9, 1706- '07, "It was voted y* y^ 
Towne would build a house for Mr. Jno. Williams in Derfield as 
big as Ens Jno Sheldon's a back room as big as may be thought 
convenient." Ensign John Sheldon, Sergt. Thomas French and 
Edward Allen were chosen "a Comity for carrying on said 
work." The energetic Ensign went vigorously to work; the 
people, happy in the return of their revered pastor, and many 
(.f their kindred and friends, hopeful for the future, lent will- 
ing assistance, so that on the 17th of October, the record speaks 
of Mr. Williams house "yMs nerly bilt." 

This structure was upon the original home lot, but set 
fai'ther towards the east than the first one, encroaching some- 
what on the training field, or common; and the town made a 
formal grant to Mr. Williams covering the site of the building, 
and bringing the east line of the home lot "ten foots before his 
house." A subsequent grant brought it up to its present limit. 
Mr. Williams married September 16, 1707, "Mrs. Abbigall 
Bisel of Windsor," another grand-daughter of John Warham, 
£!nd settled down in his new home, where the number of children 
increased to sixteen. 

In 1728, the town voted to build a new meetinghouse; dur- 
ii!g the following winter the people were busy with prepara- 
tions. In April, the site was agreed upon, and "Cake and 
drink" voted for the raising. Mr. Williams, watching the op- 
erations from his house, could congratulate the people and him- 
self, that they would soon occupy as fine a building as any on 
the Connecticut river. This, however, was not to be. June 12, 
1729, he was taken to his reward, to the "Great Surprise and 
distress" of the people and a "Grievous breach upon Deerfield." 
A contemporary speaks of his death as a fall of "one of the 
pillars of the Land," of him, as one who "taught by example, as 
vsell as by Preaching;" as "an ardent lover of New England, 
its religious principles, its Ecclesiastical and Civil Rights & Lib- 
erties. " 

After the death of Mr. Williams, his widow occupied the 
eld home until she died, June 21, 1754, leaving her son Elijah 



lO 

to succeed to the ownership. Here he was born, and after an 
eminently useful life, here he died. 

About two years after his mother's death, Capt. Elijah 
Williams either made extensive repairs on the old house, or 
pulled it down, and "built anew. The ''Old Indian House," built 
about 1698, stood 150 years, and when taken down, its timber:! 
were as sound as when hewn in the primeval forest. Is it prob 
able that a frame built of the massive oak of the period, in 1707, 
Yvould need to be taken down in 48 years? The condition of 
the present house, which has stood Avith its present finish for 
120 years, should be sufficient answer. Nor can we suppose the 
house built in 1707 was displaced to erect a larger one, the 
small increase in size over the one voted by the town forbids 
that. 

The two houses are of the same width — the present one four 
or five feet longer than the one voted in 1707, but is it not much 
more probable that this small change in the size was made 
criginally, than that it needed to be pulled down in 48 years? 
I'rom considerations like these, and internal evidence, it seems 
safe to conclude that the main building is the same built for the 
"Redeemed Captive" in 1707, with the interior changes made 
in 1756. 

Elijah Williams, born 1712, graduated at Harvard College 
in 1732, took degree of Master, 1758. In 1733, he was chosen 
Town Clerk, and continued in that office until his removal to 
Enfield ; he was always a leading man in town affairs. He wa-5 
a civil engineer, and hundreds of existing plans bear his name 
as surveyor. He made his first venture in trade by opening a 
liardware store on the southeast corner of his home lot, in May, 
1742, occupying a part of the building now standing there, 
owned by the P. V. M. Association. 

In anticipation of hostilities with France, he was appointed 
Captain of the Snow Shoe Men, Jan. 12, 1743. During the Old 
I'rench War, he was at the head of the military operations in 
this vicinity with headquarters at his store. In 1746, Capt. 
Williams was at the head of a company in Gov. Shirley's army, 
raised for the reduction of Canada, This expedition failed for 



II 

want of co-operation from England, but his company was em- 
ployed on detached service on the frontier, between Fort Dum- 
mer and Massachusetts, about which a cloud of the enemy were 
hovering throughout the season. In 1747, he commanded a com- 
pany in Colonel Joseph Dwight's regiment, which was made up 
of men in Deerfield and adjoining towns. Caleb Keeup, an In- 
dian from Northfield, whose name is left there on " Keeup 's 
Hill," was one of the company. August 3d of that year, (as 
the account books show,) was a busy time at the Corner Store, 
On that day, Capt. Williams opened accounts with sixty-seven 
soldiers, to each of whom he charged 24s cash, and to most, vari- 
ous articles of merchandise. August 6th, he had similar deal- 
ings with ten more, thus paying out about 2000s in the two 
days. This money seems to have been advanced pay, and the 
£iecounts were generally settled by orders for "King's wages," 
"Province wages," or "Canada wages;" in some instances, men 
had credit for both King's and Province wages. From August 
6th to September 3d, no charges appear on the books ; doubtless 
the store was closed, and Captain Williams absent with his com- 
mand on an expedition against the enemy. 

About the close of this war, Capt. Williams removed to En- 
Celd, Conn., and engaged in trade. His books, now in the hands 
of the P. V. M. Association, show an extended business, and con- 
tain the names of hundreds of citizens of the adjoining towns. 

While in Enfield, his wife, Lydia Dwight of Hatfield, whom 
he had married in 1735, died, and he married, in 1750, Mar- 
garet, daughter of Col. William Pynchon of Springfield. In 
May, 1751, he returned to his store in Deerfield. He had a con- 
siderable trade in peltry, and the books show names of several 
Indians among his customers. 



HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL GOSSIP 

ABOUT THE OLD PARSON WILLIAMS 

HOMESTEAD AND ITS OCCUPANTS. 

NO. 2. 

By George Sheldon. 
On the breaking out o£ the last French War, Deerfield was 
made the depot o£ the military supplies for Northern Hamp- 
shire Capt. Williams was appointed Assistant Commissary 
with'the rank of Major, and put in eharge o£ the troops posted 
here and the Old Corner Store again became the center of mil- 
itary operations. Here were fitted out the numerous scouting par- 
sf sent out towards the lakes and Canada for the proteet^n 
of he frontiers. The road from the Connecticut River Valley 
to Albany via Hoosac Mountain, ran from this »vner down 
Hitchcock Lane, and this was the point of departure for the 
troops marking to join land expeditions for the conqu^t of 
Canada with their ammunition, baggage and stores. Septem- 
be 21 1755 Maj. Williams writes Col. Williams, "Beside the 
ammunition for Crown Point, there arrived at Sunderland, ^d 
will be here, to-morrow, 200 hatchets, 200 ™™^ & -'J-' f '^ 
blankets, 100 tin kettles, 300 knapsacks and taU*^^|^- ^^- 
men in Col. Worthington 's [the Southern Hampshire] E g_ can 
be supplied here if they wish." Beside men in the field the 
cordon of forts, from Dummer to Hoosac were all supplied from 

'depot, in' addition fo powder and lead, the ~- « 
char-ed by Maj. Williams for snow shoes, "mogasins, leat ei 
o Ldiaii shoes, leather for shoe strings and patches bi^le 
pouches, melting ladles, steelyards, grindstones swan shot and 
bullets, daffells, pay and expenses of expresses, Asa Child, o 
pUoting men," "entertaining a man while after a doctor foi .. 
m n sitk at Fort Massachusetts," (doctor and Pat-t 5° -de 
anart) "rhum" and sugar for sick soldiers, rhum for 
'Coutk for expresses, for posts, transportation of swivells fo 



14 

Charlemont, of ammunition and stores to Fort Massachusetts, 
"West Hoosac, to Fort Dummer, to Burk's Fort, to Morrison's 
Fort, to Lucas' Fort, to Taylor's Fort, to Hawks' Fort, of pow- 
der for Charlemont svvivells," &c., &c. In 1756, there is one 
charge of "ammunition delivered to several marching compa- 
nies: powder, 764V^ pounds, lead, 1519 pounds, 4388 flints." 

Beside his military services, Maj. Williams was owner or 
partner in several grist and saw mills; was largely engaged in 
the manufacture of pot and pearlash, and in general mercantile 
operations, and the Corner Store was the center of business for 
Northern Hampshire. He held the office of Esquire, and gen- 
erally officiated as Justice for the surrounding country. On one 
occasion, Nov. 26, 1758, he imposed a fine of 20 shillings on 
Judah AVright of Montague, "for neglecting attendance on Di- 
vine worship in that town," the money to inure to the benefit 
of the j)oor. If similar rulings were in force among us, how 
few would remain poor! 

Maj. Williams died July 10, 1771. A short time before, he 
gave the store to his two younger children, and the business was 
carried on under the firm of "John and Eunice Williams." 
Eunice kept the books of the firm, and was the active manager 
of its affairs, while her brother was trying to establish himself 
as a lawyer in Salem. In 1773, she married William Felton of 
Eoxbury, and the partnership with John was dissolved. 

John Williams, son of Maj. Elijah, and grand-son of Rev. 
John, was born in 1751 ; he graduated at Harvard in 1769, the 
third in a class of thirty-nine, iof which the eighth was The- 
ophilus Parsons. Before the marriage of his sister, he had re- 
turned to the store in Deerfield, but his sojourn in the east was 
not without its fruits. 

September 1, 1774, he brought to the old homestead his 
bride, Miss Elizabeth Orne of Salem. About this time he took 
James Upham as a partner, and the business at the old store 
was carried on by "Williams & Upham" until 1785. 

"Esquire" Williams, as he was universally called in after 
years, engaged in many outside operations. He was the lead- 
ing spirit of a "Mast Company," Avhich sold at Hartford and 



15 

Middletowu masts run down the river from Vermont and New 
iCampshire. He manufactured oak staves for the West India 
market, to which place he also exported horses, and made oc- 
Ccisional ventures in the East India trade. He was interested 
in several mills which sent large quantities of sawed lumber 
down the Connecticut river, also in making potash and pearlash 
for the general market, and at one time was largely engaged in 
barreling beef. He was one of the foremost in planning and 
building the canals at South Hadley and Turners Falls, the 
bridges at Cheapside and Montague, as well as in laying out im- 
portant highways. 

Throughout his life, Esq. Williams was active and useful 
ill town affairs, holding many positions of honor and trust. He 
held intimate relations with the royal Governors of Massachu- 
setts, and existing letters from Gov. Wentworth of New Hamp- 
shire, show him to have been his trusted agent. Of course he 
was a Tory. In 1781, he was arrested and put under bonds, as 
being "unfriendly to the Independence of the United States." 
In May, 1783, he was chosen Representative to the General 
Court, but was not allowed to take his seat on account of his 
Toryism. Another election was ordered to fill the vacancy for 
the second session, (the years were so long, or the session so 
short that the Legislature then met twice a year,) and, although 
the parties were almost equally balanced, personal consider- 
ations prevailed, and Esq. Williams was again returned, with 
bat one vote against him. This election was held, July 31st. 
In September following he was indicted by the court at Spring- 
field for taking part with Great Britain in the war. When he 
appeared to take his seat at the second session of the General 
Court, he was again rejected by a vote of 114 to 78. In May, 
1784, he was arraigned for trial on the charge of sedition, but 
pleading the 6th article of the Treaty of Peace with Great Bri- 
tain, he was released. In May, 1784, he was once more chosen 
Representative; his case was referred to a Committee of the 
General Court, who reported favorably; he was admitted and 
re-elected until 1788, becoming an influential member of that 
body. In 1787, he was chosen Register of Deeds for the North- 



i6 

crn Hampshire District. The office was at the old Corner Store, 
which, like his father, he had made the center of all his busi- 
ness operations. As a Justice of Peace, Esq. Williams had an 
f.mount of business hard to realize in these quiet times, when 
litigation seems at its minimum in quantity, although at its 
maximum of expense. Being instrumental in breaking up a 
large combination of counterfeiters, which were flooding the 
land with base silver coin, he was presented a valuable service 
of silver plate by the banks of Philadelphia. He was one of the 
most active in establishing Deerfield Academy, contributing gen- 
erously of his means, and at his death he left the bulk of his 
estate as a fund for that institution. He died July 27, 1816, 
leaving no children. It is a singular fact, that not a single de- 
scendant of any one of the sixteen children of Rev. John Wil- 
liams, has lived in Franklin County for nearly half a century. 

Esq. Williams left the Register's office in 1796; his suc- 
cessor was Elijah Williams, better known to the older people as 
''Uncle Josh." He bought the Corner Store of Esq. John, and 
continued the Registry there, and also carried on his trade of 
saddler. In 1801, the corner was sold to Orlando Ware, who 
continued in trade there through life, accumulating a handsome 
property. Edwin Ware, his son, succeeded to the place an<l 
business with like success, to be followed at his death by his 
daughter, Fannie S. Ware. Ill health compelling her to relin- 
quish business, the old Corner Store fell into the hands of the 
P. V. M. Association. 

The career of Madam Abigail Silliman should be noticed 
in connection with this old homestead. She was the oldest 
daughter of Rev. John Williams by his second wife, born in the 
house the year after it was built. She was married there about 
1730, to Rev. and Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale, Chaplain at Fort 
Dummer, and founder of Hinsdale, N. H. With him she shared 
all the hardships and dangers of an exposed frontier settlement, 
through two French and Indian wars, and until his death, Jan- 
uary 6, 1763. The widow married October 18, 1764, Col. Ben- 
jamin Hall of Cheshire, Conn. Again a widow, she married a 
third time, in 1773, Hon. Ebenezer Silliman of Fairfield, Conn. 



17 

Judge Silliman was father of Col. Gold Selleck Silliman of Rev- 
olutionary fame, and grandfather of the first Prof. Benjamin 
Silliman of New Haven. He was Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives the year of his marriage. In about three years, 
jVladam Silliman was again a widow. Feeling the universal 
longing of the aged for the place of their birth, she came to the 
old home of her childhood, wiiere she passed the later years of 
her eventful life, dying Dec. 3, 1787. She was laid beside her 
first husband in Hinsdale. Their only child, who died at Hins- 
dale in 1739, was buried in the old burying yard at the foot ofc* 
Hitchcock's Lane. 

In 1789, Esq. John Williams sold the homestead which had 
been granted to his grandfather more than a century before, to 
Consider Dickinson, reserving, however, his place of business, 
the Corner Store. Here Mr. Dickinson spent a long life, witb 
varying fortunes. An adventure in Western land speculation 
ending disastrously, his homestead was temporarily alienated, 
lie accumulated a considerable fund in the Canada fur trade, 
and many are the stories "Uncle Sid" used to tell of his ad- 
ventures with the Indians, and his exploits in "running the 
line" with his peltry. He finally settled down to farming and 
fattening oxen for the Brighton market. Industrious and eco- 
i^omical, he acquired, what for the time and place, was a gen- 
erous fortune. 

Mr. Dickinson was a soldier of the Revolution; he was 
discharged from Fort Griswold the day before it was taken by 
the traitor Arnold. Soon after the close of the war, he married 
Filany, daughter of Col. David Field. She died, October 31, 
1831, and he married, Januarj^ 7, 1840, Esther, daughter of 
Abijah Harding. It has recently come to the knowledge of the 
writer, and should be recorded to the credit of Mr. Dickinson, 
that before this marriage Avas consummated, the question of 
founding a school was fully discussed with Miss Harding, an.l 
presumably an agreement then entered into to carry out such n 
plan on the death of the survivor. His fine faith that his widow 
would be true to this engagement, is shown by his will, in which 
he leaves his entire property to her with no restriction what- 



i8 

ever. He knew her well before marriage, for she had been a 
member of his family for years, working for $1.00 a week as 
"hired girl." His trust in her was well founded, and the self-de- 
nial and faithfulness with which Mrs. Dickinson carried out the 
plans and wishes of her husband, in view of these facts, seem 
exalted to nobility. Mr. Dickinson died Dec. 4, 1854, aged near- 
ly 94 years. His widow died, June 15, 1875, aged 85 years. 
How the estate left her accumulated in her hands, how she added 
to it her own considerable earnings, and left it as a fund to 
found a High School and Library for the towai of Deerfield, is 
loo well known to need a detailed account. 

It is an interesting thought, in connection with this historic 
spot, that the old corner lot is about to be united with the orig- 
inal home lot from which it was separated in 1789, and that the 
fund left Deerfield Academy by Esq. Williams has recently 
been combined with that left by Mrs. Dickinson, and is to be 
used to erect a building for a High School and Library, an ap- 
propriate monument to his memory, on the spot where he was 
born. 



THE PERSONALITY OF THE REV. JOHN 
WILLIAMS HOUSE.- 

By J. M. Arms Sheldon. 

Let lis make haste slowly while we dwell upon the picture 
of the resurrection of Deerfield from dire disaster by bullet, 
hatchet and flame. 

Three years had passed since the appalling tragedy. Now, 
in 1707, John Williams, the beloved minister, was coming back 
to his people — the man who had had the power to speak, the 
pOAver to comfort his desolate flock by the ice-bound river on 
tlieir Canadian march, the first Sunday after the wreckage of all 
he held most dear on earth. 

As I stood last summer near this spot, amid a wilderness 
of trees, encircled by the self-same hills these stricken captives 
looked upon, I was indeed glad that the nameless stream of 1704 
bore today, and would bear to future generations the name of 
Williams. Aye, call it holy ground where faith and resolution 
triumph over black despair. 

Yes, as I say, the pastor was coming back to his own. A 
feeling even of joy animated these men of Deerfield when, on 
the evening of Jan. 9, 1706- '07, they agreed and voted that the 
"Towue would build a house for Mr. Jno. Williams ... as 
big as Ens Jno Sheldon 's a back room as big as may be thought 
convenient. ' ' 

Can you not see these sturdy yeomen, strong through the 
discipline of struggle, hastening to the mountain which still 
nourished many a primeval oak and pine. 

The Historian of Deerfield has described in graphic lan- 
guage the building of the first house for the minister twenty 
years before. In the main the description applies equally well 
to the house of 1707. I quote in part: — 

*Paper read before the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association at 
its annual meeting, Feb. 26, 1918. 



20 

"What . . . excitement among the people when the prep- 
aration for the enterprise began ! Before the dawn on the day 
set, the smoke from every chimney was climbing the still frosty 
air, showing that all were astir. Breakfast by the light of the 
blazing pine knots, and a prompt gathering on the common. 
AVith what zeal and energy . . . the carpenters lead the wood- 
men with axes on their shonlders up the steep side of the East 
Mountain, and point out the trees which after careful search 
they had selected and marked for sacrifice! The biggest and 
tiillest pines that seem to be pillars supporting the sky are to be 
sawed into boards, the straightest and cleanest to be cut into 
bolts for clapboards and shingles. . . . With what care will the 
boards be culled over, that no hiding knot may peep out to mar 
the wide panels. . , , 

"Again the mighty oaks for sills and plates and summer- 
trees. They had wrestled with the stormy winds of centuries, 
and at each encounter struck their roots more deeply into the 
earth; they had gathered sap from the soil formed by countless 
generations of trees, which had sprung up and been nourished 
upon the ashes of countless generations before them. The 
strength of the ages had now been garnered in their ponderous 
trunks and gnarled branches. 

"Many and willing hands make light . . . work and soon 
the lively echoes were sending from the heights to the valley 
the mingled sounds of varied activities, — the sharp-speaking axe 
eating its way little by little to the heart of the victims, the 
shock and groans of the monarchs as they jarred the solid 
ground in their fall, the irrepressible shouts of the young team- 
sters while urging the patient oxen to and fro with heavy loads 
through devious ways with uncertain footing, they wondering 
the while what the commotion was all about. 

"The pine logs after being squared with the broad-axe, are 
drawn to the saw-pit, where by the persistent hands and guid- 
ing eye of the top sawyer and the steady pull of the pit-man, 
they will be cut into boards or plank. The oak timbers are 
scored and hewn M^here they are felled, and then dragged over 
the snow to the site selected for the house on Meetinghouse Hill. 



21 



Here [the carpenters] with rule and compasses m hand, mark oft 
the length and lay out the mortises and tenons. These will be 
closely followed by their helpers, who will soon be scattered 
about busy with saw and augur, chisel and mallet, developing 
the deep mortise or stout tenon, which must be fitted by try 

rule, each to its mate." * ^^ -, c. 4. • 

When the homesteads were laid out in the Old Street m 
1671, two lots between Nos. 13 and 14 were reserved one for 
the minister, the other for the Church. The house built m 1686 
for Mr Williams stood on the minister's lot facing the training 
f,eld or common. It was on the site of the present Deerfield 
Academy and Dickinson High School. This house was 42 foot 
Lg, 20 foot wide with a lentoo". In 1704 this house was 

hiirned to the ground. 

Ensign John Sheldon's house, a few feet to the north meas- 
m-ed 42x21 ft. with a lean-to 13% ft. running the whole length 
„£ the north side, its roof being eontinnous with that of the ^a>n 
huilding. You will recall that the seeond house of John Will- 
iams was to be as big as Ensign Sheldon's. It was, an fact, a 
trme larger, measuring 47.21 ft. though the lean-to was only 

" ^Au'through the spring of 1707 there were frequent Indian 
alanTs so thaf the inhabitants of Deerfield sent to Co ■ Samu^ 
Partridge for help to straighten their weak fortifications. In 
Col Partridge's appeal to the General Court, dated May 28, 
1707 he speaks of ''The Nessessetie of Eebuild.ng the Forts 
" 'so a stTtake in Mr. Williams his house & -^^ f J 
houses for Inhabitants that are & will repaire there for en- 
largm't & strengthening the plaee."t 

'under date of Oet. 17, 1707, a Pettion was ^»t " *he to 
eral Court; for assistance as the people had been at Consider 
erai i^ouiu lu -Rnilrqins- a House & providing 

:r=rrcTn^::n:srZ Bescttlemen^t of our 

Eev'd Pastor". 

•Hetedity .nd early environment of John Winiams. By George 



22 

The second Williams house stood a little farther east than 
the first one and nearer the training field; it remained on this 
site for 169 years. 

Here in the golden autumn of 1707 John Williams brought 
liis wife, Mrs. Abigail Bisel, the daughter of Abigail Warhani 
and Capt. Thomas Allen of Windsor, Ct. She came not to fill 
the place of Eunice Mather — whose place could indeed never be 
filled — but to be a help-mate in the new and needed service for 
home and town. 

It must be borne in mind that John Williams and Abigail, 
his wife, came to Deerfield when the dark shadows of Queen 
^Nnne's war rested over all New England; when the red man and 
the white man were playing the secret and fatal game of hide- 
and-seek; when war and rumors of war haunted the homes and 
the hearts of the people as they haunt our homes and hearts 
today. 

No one knew better than John Williams the horrors of an 
Indian massacre or of Indian captivity. Some men would have 
sought a safer and more comfortable home, near a large pro- 
tecting centre; not so with John Williams. He chose to go 
where he was most needed, and he went with a determination 
to hold strongly and steadily to his orbit to the end. 

Let us now forget the shadows and join in spirit John and 
Abigail Williams as they survey their new home. We walk 
from the Street through the training field to the hospitable 
front door. Crossing the threshold we stand in a hall, which 
though not large, impresses one as broad and generous; it runs 
through the house and lean-to opening upon the green fields and 
blue hills to the west. At the right of the entrance is the 
"best room". Surely the new owners must look with delight 
on the beautiful wainscotted wall! Across the ceiling runs the 
conspicuous summer-tree Avhich, true to its name, bears faith- 
fally its heavy burden. The open fireplace and the shuttered 
windows with inviting window seats suggest the blessedness of 
home. 

On the left of the front hall is a similar room though not 
quite so ornate. It is flooded with warm, golden sunshine 



23 

which, let us rejoice, is reflected in the hearts and upon the faces 
of John and Abigail Williams. 

The "best room" leads into a smaller room in the lean-to, 
probably used as a bedroom; the south room into a little entry 
with a south, outside door, and a west door which opens into 
the large kitchen in the lean-to with its great, warm-hearted 
fire-place. 

Ascending the broad front stairway with its ornamental 
balustrade, and turning to the right we find on either side a 
large chamber; another flight leads to the north garret. There 
is no way of reaching the south garret save by the narrow, steep 
l;ack stairs. These begin in the lean-to and run up to a trap 
door in the floor above ; raising this, we find ourselves in a lit- 
tle dark room about eight feet square. This opens into a small 
chamber with one south window. From this room narrow stairs 
lead up under the roof to the south garret. These stairs and 
rooms will be used by the servants of the family— it may be 
by Meseck and Kedar. 

The main part of the house consists, as we have seen, of 
four good-sized rooms, two little rooms, with the halls and the 
north and south garrets. The lean-to contains three rooms, bed- 
room, kitchen and kitchen chamber. 

How we long to know just what were the furnishings of the 
house and what were the daily happenings in the home. No 
diary has been found to bring us in close touch with the fam- 
ily life so we must depend upon other testimony. 

The inventory of the estate of John Williams "reported to 
the Court Sept. 3, 1729", and preserved in the Court Records 
of Old Hampshire County, throw much light on the family pos- 
sessions. In this inventory reference is made to "the study^^, 
-study chamber", "outward room", "outward chamber , 
"kitchen" and "kitchen chamber". 

We may assume that the study contained the library of 190 
volumes and 349 pamphlets, truly "a rich collection under the 
circumstances, but there was no poetry or so-called fiction 
We know there was "a Table in the Study & Small Andirons and 



24 

Tongues". In the other rooms there were in all three tables, 
"6 Small Black Chairs with a Great also," "3 Great Chairs & 
15 Small ones ". "A Chest ", " A Sea Chest with Lock & Key ' ' ; 
also "a Chest of Draws and Cloth upon it". Hanging upon 
the walls were three looking-glasses; there is no mention of 
pictures or portraits. 

The fireplaces were provided with "a pair of Andirons and 
Tongues". The light was supplied by candles in "a Long Can- 
dle Stick, 2 Iron, 3 Pewter ones", and "1 Brass Candlestick". 

The following would seem to prove there was a bed in sev- 
eral rooms. 

"A Bedstead Cord & Iron Rods in y*" Study Chamber" 
with bed and bolster. 

"A Bedstead & Cord in the Outward Chamber" with feath- 
er bed and bolster. 

*'A Bedstead Cord & Rods in the Outward Room" with bed 
and bolster. 

"Bedstead Cord & Iron Rods in y*" Hall" with a featherbed 
and bolster. 

There was also "a Trundle Bedstead and cord" with bed and 
bolster. 

Judging from the low value placed on the bedsteads they 
must have been exceedingly plain. The furnishings of the 
high-posters we are able to restore with more detail. 

There were "Blew Linsey Woolsey Curtains & Vallance", 
"Callico Curtains & Vallance", "Green Curtains and Vallance". 
The sheets were mostly linen, but one pair of cotton sheets were 
listed at 1£ 10s, another pair at 15s and one cotton sheet at Is 
6d. In addition to the bolsters there were pillows with "Hol- 
land cases" and cases made of cotton. 

The blankets were of various color and material. There 
were white blankets, "a Bought white Blanket", "a Callico quilt 
and a China Head Cloth for a Bed". "A white Sattin blanket", 
and a yellow blanket of the same material. 

The coverlets were of different hue and design. "A Black 
& white Coverlet", "A Yellow homemade Coverlet", "A Check- 



25 

erd Coverlet fringed at both Ends", another "fringed at one 
End". "A Black & white Coverlet w*" white at 1 end", "A 
Coverlet w'*' blew Stripes & a flowerd Cov"". 

On the floor were, at least, "A Blew Rugg" and two green 
rugs. 

After all, it is the old-time kitchen that wins us to itself. 
Ilow we Avould love to gather round that great roaring fire and 
watch the sparks fly upward while we dream dreams of our won- 
derful future. Say what we may, go where we will, it is the 
HOME, symbolized by the open fire and the hearthstone that 
forever holds the human heart. 

The record in regard to the simple kitchen furnishings and 
utensils is surprisingly full. Here we find "A Long fowling 
piece", ''A Gun one of the Queen's Arms", "A Great Brass 
Skillit", "A Warming pan", "An old Trunk", "A Brass Milk 
pan", "2 pottage Pots", "A Great Brass Kettle", "three Por- 
ringers", "2 Salt Sellars", "6 Patty pans", "A Pair of Great 
Stilliards", "Two Knot Dishes", 14 old trenches, 2 wooden 
platters, a frying pan, slice, chaffing dish, gridiron, trivet, brok- 
en pot-hooks, branding iron, etc. 

The table was provided with table cloth, linen napkins and 
blue china. There were pewter plates, platters and basins, also 
a silver tankard, silver cup and 10 silver spoons. 

You will notice that in the furnishings of the house there 
is no mention of the "high-boy" or "low-boy". These names 
are not found in old inventories since they did not come into ex- 
istence till near the middle of the eighteenth century. The 
"Chest of Draws", however, would be called a high-boy today. 

To our surprise the inventory is lacking in certain articles 
we should expect to find. There are no settles mentioned, no 
sundials and no clocks of any kind, notwithstanding these had 
been in use some years, no writing desk of the period, no stools 
and no betty lamps. 

Doubtless many precious heirlooms were destroyed when 
the first house of Mr. Williams went up in flames in 1704. 

As year after year joined those gone before they left five 
little ones in the home— Abigail, John, Eliakim, Elijah and 



26 

Sarah. While these children were developing through the in- 
fluences of home and school, John Williams himself was grow- 
ing mentally. We find him in frequent and intimate personal 
correspondence with Samuel Sewall, the distinguished jurist of 
Boston. Under date of May 9, 1709 Judge Sewall records in his 
' ' Papers ".* "In the evening Mr. Williams of Derefield comes in 
to see me." Again, June 6, of the same year, "Artillery-day. 
I went with Mr. John Williams of Dearfield, to the Funeral of 
Mr. Pierpont at Eeading".t 

"July 16, 1711. In the afternoon was great Thunder, 
Lightening, Rain . . . The discourse of Capt. Torrey put me upon 
asking Mr. Williams to pray with us, who did it excellently, and 
thank 'd God for the Opportunity 'Ml "May 28, 1712, Election- 
day. Coming to Town the Gov"" took Gov"" Vetch; and I had 
Ero^ Mr Williams of Dearfield".* Oct. 30, 1713. "Mr. Jn" 
Williams preached for my son in the morn, and went at Noon 
to preach for Mr. Walter".^ "June 2, 1717, Mr. R. Cotton 
preaches a. m. Mr Jn° Williams post m. "'^ 

Judge Sewall 's wife died in May, 17"20; under date of May 
26 he records that Mr. Williams was one of several who "visit 
me in a very friendly and Christian manner".' 

Rev. Thomas Prince, pastor of the Old South Church in 
Boston, says, "Mr. Williams used every May, yearly, to come 
down to the General Convention of Ministers of the Province 
of Boston ; where he was always very affectionately entertained. 
At the convention in May 1728 ... he preached a very moving 
Sermon to the Ministers".** 

I have given these extracts from Judge Sewall 's writings 
to prove that while John Williams lived in a small, poor, unsafe 
frontier town he kept in touch with the strong, competitive in- 
tellectual life of the city, and his horizon broadened with the 
years. He loved his native air, but he loved still more the op- 
portunity for splendid service in the home of his adoption. 

* Sewall's Papers, Vol. II, p. 255. tPapers, Vol. II, p. 257. 

II Papers, Vol. II, p. 319. JII, p. 348. 

I Papers, Vol. II, p. 406. 2 III, p. 131. 
3 Papers, III, p. 255. 

**History of Deerfield, Sheldon I, p. 463. 



27 

111 June, 1709, John Williams was appointed Chaplain in 
the expedition against Canada ; in 1710 and 1711 he was chosen 
again for the same work. Cotton Mather writes in his Diary,* 
*'A worthy minister [John Williams] a Chaplain in our forces 
now [July, 1711] going against Canada needs the Kindnesses 
oi some good People to furnish him with Convenencies for his 
Voyage. I would promote his accommodation. I would also pro- 
cure him to be furnished with Books of Piety to be dispersed 
among our Souldiers". 

Two years later Mr. Williams was appointed Commissioner 
to go with Col. John Stoddard to Canada to arrange for the re- 
lease of captives. Something Avhich was called Peace had come 
with the treaty of Utrecht, Mar. 30, 1713, and according to the 
terms of the treaty the English prisoners were to be sent home. 
On Nov. 5, 1713, Mr. Williams left the delights of his happy 
home for the hardships of a northern journey and the trials of 
a nine months' stay in Canada. 

The daily efforts in behalf of the captives are recorded in 
Col. John Stoddard's "Journal" now in Memorial Hall. It is 
a story of strenuous and persistent appeals on the one hand, and 
of wily political schemes and unfulfilled promises on the other. 

Would that we might find the letters that John Williams 
wrote his wife, Abigail, through this long, trying period. Doubt- 
less the hearthstone and the summer-tree heard them all, but 
they are loyal and tell no tales. 

We have seen that John Williams was a part of the civil 
and military as well as the religious life of his time. He was, 
in fact, intimate with the leading men of the colony, and many 
of them sat around his hospitable board in the big kitchen of 
the Williams house. ' ' Having a well furnished Table ' ' says Rev. 
Isaac Chauncy of Hadley, Mr. Williams ''cared not to eat his 
]\Iorsel Alone And having the portion of a full and overflowing 
Cup others might be welcome to share in it. How often did he 
invite persons of other Towns (occasionally there) to rest and 
repose themselves under his Roof. And his winning carriage 
was an inducement to them to accept of the Invitation". 

♦Part II, p. 87. 



28 

We know that on Sept. 1, 1716, the famous Judge Sewall 
visited Mr. Williams. It is pleasant to picture these two friends 
of many years sitting together in the beautiful "best room" or, 
it may be, in the sunny south room discussing the political and 
religious problems of the day. 

Verily, a house that has held within itself the leading 
spirits of an age becomes like them in character. It takes on a 
marvelous personality, strong and abiding. It is this person- 
ality of the John Williams house that is its greatest charm. 

Standing in the shade of the ancient Button Ball — oldest 
inhabitant by far of Deerfield — we pause and ponder. Lights 
and shadows play across the roof tree of the John Williams home. 
We see the young Eliezer, fresh from Harvard, going forth to 
his lifework as pastor and guide of the Church at Mansfield, Ct. 

We hear music and laughter and Esther Williams, in 
the beauty of her young womanhood, leaves the home-nest with 
Joseph Meacham by her side. These two have given the prom- 
ise — the mosit sacred promise a man or a woman can give, — and 
henceforth they are both pledged to the service of Church and 
home. 

Look ! the sunshine grows more intense until it seems to 
illumine every room in the house. A child is born to John and 
Abigail Williams, and little Sarah is making sunshine in their 
hearts. 

As one child comes, another goes, for now Stephen, the boy 
captive, wearing the laurels of Harvard, departs for his life- 
work of sixty-six years in Longmeadow. 

And yet again the good bye and the Godspeed are spoken 
when Warham, still another Harvard graduate, seeks his Water- 
town home. 

Fain would we give color to the picture by painting Eunie'3 
Williams in her Indian blanket, but the historical student must 
depend for historical truth upon evidence, and the evidence in 
this case is strongly against the supposition that Eunice ever 
returned to her father's home. So we must leave her in her 
Canadian wigwam for some years longer until, in 1740, she 
visits her brother Stephen in Longmeadow. 

The clouds are gathering and the shadows deepening over 



29 

the lonely home. It is the twelfth of June, 1729. A profound, 
unbroken silence, more significant than any spoken word, tells 
the tale that the man who has serenely sruided his people in paths 
of useful service has himself passed to that larger sphere of 
action beyond the veil. 

Not only the name but the very soul of John Williams is 
eternally impressed upon his homestead and upon the history of 
Old Deerfield. 

Twenty-five years passed and Abigail Williams lived on with 
her son Elijah, who had graduated from Harvard, married 
Lydia D wight of Hatfield, and settled down in his father's 
home. During this time the house probably remained essential- 
ly unchanged. 

About 1756 Elijah Williams made certain marked altera- 
tions in the house both externally and internally. He took away 
the south part of the lean-to, and in doing this cut off the end 
of the back stairs. He then moved up to the main part of the 
building a low, gambrel-roofed, weather-worn house whose pre- 
vious history is not known. This addition, measuring 40x23 ft., 
formed the ell. As the ell had stairs of its own the original back 
stairs of the John Williams house proper fell into disuse. In 
the course of years these became the "secret stairs" enshrouded 
with mystery and mythical tales. 

Elijah Williams was a leading man in the business and 
civil life of his day. Wlien he died in 1771 the house passed to 
I'.is son John. "Esquire John", as he was called, was a Har- 
vard graduate so deeply interested in education that he was 
active in establishing Deerfield Academy, and at his death gave 
a fund for its maintenance. 

While "Esquire John" occupied his grandfather's house, 
the Eev. William Bentley of Boston, later distinguished for his 
antiquarian knowledge, visited the town. A sentence in Mr. 
Bentley 's "Diary" shows how the Williams house impressed 
the stranger at this time. He says, "In my visit to Deerfield, 
in the winter of 1782, I was very greatly entertained. I went 
on horseback from Cambridge. The elevation of Deerfield 
Street is not gradual but rather sudden north of the meeting 



30 

house which stands on the west side, has an handsome appear- 
ance, electric rods, a public clock with pointers and a good Bell 
. . . the school is in the open square in which the church stands. 
. . . Back stands the Elegant House belonging to Mr. Williams." 

"Esquire John" lived in his "elegant" home till 1789, when 
for some reason I have been unable to discover he sold his an- 
cestral homestead to Consider Dickinson, one of Thomas Dickin- 
son's "remarkable family of children". 

Consider Dickinson, or "Uncle Sid", was a stanch and 
shrewd New England farmer, "especially noted for his exhaust- 
less fund of humorous anecdotes and songs". Among the man- 
uscripts in the Deerfield Town Alcove in the library of Memor- 
ial Hall is one entitled, "Uncle Sid's Adventure with the In- 
dians, taken down by R. B. Field of Guilford", Mr. Field writes 
that Mr. Dickinson "was a man over 6 ft. in height, strongly 
built, powerful and athletic, with a will and energy possessed 
by very few men". 

Uncle Sid's adventure with two savage Indians while cross- 
ing Lake Champlain in a canoe in October, 1785, proves that he 
saved his own life and that of his companion by his coolness an<l 
skilful dexterity ; in other words, by his masterly ability in con- 
quering circumstances. 

The marvelous tales connected with the John Williams house 
originated during the sixty-five years of Uncle Sid's occupancy. 
These tales were exaggerated while passing from one generation 
to another till we find ourselves in a labyrinthian way where it is 
extremely difficult to separate fact from fiction. 

We know that Uncle Sid carried on at one time a large bus- 
iness in Canadian furs, and that, in all probability, the secret 
passages of his home sometimes aided in the concealment of his 
big stock of goods. We leave the further analysis of his char- 
acter to the Historian of Deerfield, who knew him well, and who 
Las recorded his knowledge in the "History of Deerfield" and 
other publications. 

Consider Dickinson died in 1854, and his wife Esther in 
1875. At her death the homestead passed into the hands of the 
Trustees of Deerfield Academy. 



31 

This was a critical time in the life of the old house. 
The Trustees did not want it, and some advocated pulling it 
down. They offered it to the President of the Pocumtuck Val- 
ley Memorial Association if he would move it to the grounds of 
the Old Academy, but President Sheldon believed in the eternal 
fitness of things, and, so far as he was able, acted in accordance 
with his belief. He knew that the John Williams house should 
stand on the John Williams homestead, and to this end he wrote 
and published articles in the County paper concerning its re- 
markable history and age. In this way public sentiment was 
aroused, a new interest created, and people came from far and 
near to see the home of Parson Williams. It is true, as else- 
where stated, that George Sheldon saved the house from de- 
struction. 

Finally the Trustees decided to move the building several 
rods to the west. In doing this the west room of the gambrel- 
roofed ell, as large as the east room or larger, was cut off and 
destroyed. This was due, in part, to the badly decayed condi- 
tion of the sills. Other changes were made in the interior of 
the house at this time, especially in the little or "secret" rooms. 

The past two years— 1916, 1917— mark an era in the history 
of the John Williams house. Through the persistent and long- 
sustained efforts of the principal of the Deerfield Academy, Mr. 
Frank L. Boyden, with the aid of the Academy Trustees and 
other loyal helpers, the house has been restored and has become 
a vital factor in the education of the young. The ancient fire- 
places have been reopened, and some of the superfluous latter- 
day partitions removed. An addition not exceeding by very 
many feet the original length of the ell has been built. 

It is indeed peculiarly fitting that a home which has shelt- 
ered seven college graduates and two persons— a husband and 
v,-ife — mutually eager to give to others the educational advan- 
tages denied themselves, should become in course of time an in- 
spiring home for teachers and boy students. 

Truly we ourselves may enter into the joy of Esquire John 
Williams, who left nearly his whole estate to Deerfield Acad- 
emy, over this final use of his old home. 



32 

I have dwelt upon the personality of the John Williams 
house, because, in reality, this house is part of the very bone 
ciiid blood of Old Deerfield. It represents her religious, historic 
and educational ideals. It possesses the vitalizing power of rare 
personal associations. 

What is it, think you, that brings thousands of people to 
Deerfield every year from all over our land, from Asia, Europe, 
Africa, and the islands of the seas? What is it that draws near- 
ly two thousand visitors in the month of August to Memorial 
Hall, year after year ? What is it that causes the stranger with- 
in our gates, coming for a day, to linger till the days pass into 
weeks? What is it? I ask. 

It is primarily, not wholly, but primarily, Deerfield 's an- 
cient homes, her ancestral homesteads, her unequalled collection 
of memorial heirlooms, illustrating early New England life, her 
great elms and maples, and the atmosphere which these things 
create. 

The man who stands within a seventeenth century house 
cannot but pause and think. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, 
the furnishings of the home, all speak to him of those about 
v.hom, in his innermost being, he longs to know. 

The youth who finds himself in a home whose walls echo to 
the voices of Revolutionary Minute IMen catches the inspiration 
cf their deeds, and goes forth a stronger man to dare and to do 
for the righteous cause of human freedom. 

• If this be true, what then is our duty — your duty and mine? 
Surely, it is our imperative duty to restore, preserve, and sacred- 
ly guard these ancient hearthstones. Plainly, it is our duty to 
be constantly alert, ever vigilant, and vitally active in thrusting 
back the power that seeks to wrest from us our birthright and 
our heritage. Clearly, very clearly, it is our dvity to consecrate 
ourselves anew, this very night, to the difficult task of being 
more worthy the brave men and women of the seventeenth and 
eighteenth centuries, who helped to make us free, and who 
fought superbly the hard, sad, but glorious battle of life. 



LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 

014 077 371 2 i 



1 



